The present invention relates to a method of producing a cheese product in snack-sized form, more particularly, to a method of producing snack-sized pieces of a cheese product, formed into a desirable rounded shape such as a sphere and having a good appearance and a uniform texture.
Recently, several productions methods of snack-sized cheese products have been proposed so as to satisfy the needs of the consumer or provide cheese products consumable in a few bites. For example, such production methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,284 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,970 (corresponding to Japanese Patent Publication laid-open to the public under No. 155384 and claiming the convention priority thereof). The primary object of these prior arts is to provide snack-sized cheese products having a cylindrical shape. In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,284, a molten cheese is cooled to a temperature varying about 20.degree. to 30.degree. C. and formed into a rope and then cut into a desired length to obtain snack-sized pieces. Thereafter, each piece is quickly cooled and wrapped. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,970 discloses a high-speed cutting of a quickly cooled cheese rope into individual pieces and a twist-wrapping thereof for improving the efficiency in manufacturing the snack-sized cheese products.
Although these prior arts permit the provision of bite-sized pieces of a cheese product convenient to the consumer, the resultant shape of the product is inevitably limited to the shape obtained by the step of cutting the rope. Accordingly, the possible variations in the shape of the product according to the conventional arts are restricted to the varieties obtained by changing the sectional shape of the rope.
Recent increased consumption of snack-sized cheese products resulting from its convenience to the consumer indicates the possibility of expanding the market by the provision of more varieties of products on the basis of the improvement of the appearance, shape, and quality of the snack sized cheese products.
Conventional methods do not relate to the formation process of the cheese products, subsequent to the cutting process, causing the cheese mass to be formed into a desired shape. Therefore, the resultant individual piece of cheese obtained by cooling and cutting in accordance with conventional methods is too hard to be formed into a desirable shape. Moreover, such cheese products having an unfavorable hardness for shaping has a disadvantage of producing creases, cracks, and small voids on the surface of the cheese and other portions thereof. As a result, the cheese products manufactured by the conventional arts often produce a defective appearance, providing a poor product value in the market.
Another conventional method called the "hot-pack method", wherein a molten cheese is solidified within a mold die to obtain cheese products having a desired shape cannot be considered as being a continuous, effective manufacturing method capable of offering high quality, snack sized cheese products in an effective manner.